She was looking away from me and so was I, yet for some reason her presence was impossible to ignore. I could literally feel her sitting on the couch next to me, even though we weren't nearly touching. It was as if the air between us was charged with electricity, and it wasn't -unfortunately- of the thrilling, breath-taking type. Not this time.
The therapist sat on the red, leather love chair in front of us. "Okay. Before we begin, I would like to ask some basic questions about the two of you to have a good image of your relationship. Is that okay?"
I nodded, while April replied "Yes, of course."
I glanced at her sitting there. Her legs were crossed and her hands were on her lap, her fingers playing with each other. I sighed. It was good to know that at least I wasn't the only one that felt nervous about this.
"Alright. So, how long have you two known each other?"
"Twelve years." I replied, not missing a heartbeat.
Dr. Cope seemed impressed. "That's a long time for two people your age."
I smiled. I was quite proud of that fact. "It is." April replied.
"And did you meet at work?"
"Yes. On our first day at the hospital." She said. I nodded.
"And we've been working together since." I added.
The therapist nodded, writing down the information given in a little notebook. "Which one is older, if you don't mind me asking?"
I blinked and looked at April. She seemed a bit puzzled too. "Uh, me." I said. "Five months." April bit her lip, seeming to be fighting back a smile.
"Alright. And would you say one of you has the upper hand in your relationship?"
April shook her head, just as I replied "She does."
She turned to look at me, a frown between her eyebrows. "What? Since when do you feel like this?"
I huffed. "You always make all the decisions, April. You are the one in control of this thing."
She looked at me incredulously. Then she pursed her lips, looking away. "That is so not true, and so unfair." She murmured.
"You always-"
"Okay." The therapist interrupted. "We may move on. We will address this issue again later on. I am just trying to get the general picture for now."
It took me a moment, but I eventually nodded. "Alright."
"Good. So, you have been a couple for…?"
We both stiffened at the question. I glanced at her, and she glanced back, and a long moment went by without either of us answering.
"Why the hesitation?" Dr. Cope asked when she picked up on it.
April licked her lips. "It's a bit… more complicated than just that." She said shyly.
"Yeah. Define 'couple'." I asked.
She narrowed her eyes at us. "When did you fist begin seeing each other romantically?"
"When we had sex." I blurted out, and then widened my eyes once I realized I had said it out loud. April's face turned the deepest shade of red immediately, and the therapist gave us a little smile. "I mean, uh…" I said with a wince.
"During our medical boards, we were staying at a hotel together." April cut in, flustered. "Not in the same room. And we were nervous and had some drinks… and one thing led to another." She made a gesture with her hands, and then let them drop to her lap and bit her lip.
"She punched a guy." I added with a grin.
She shot me a deadly glare. "I didn't-" She looked at Dr. Cope with a horrified look. "This is not what it sounds like. He was harassing me."
I wrinkled my nose. "He barely implied she was a slut."
She playfully hit my arm. "I was a virgin!" she said with a giggle to the therapist and then her hand flew to shut her mouth. Her blush got even deeper, and I know that it would now reach down her shirt, all the way to her stern.
Dr. Cope actually let out a surprised chuckle at that, and I would too if I wasn't still taken aback by what April had just done. That small hitting of my arm… she hadn't done that in so long that the amount of memories it suddenly brought to the surface completely surprised me. She used to do it all the time, and I would just laugh at the pathetic attempts of her little arms to get me. And I hadn't realized how much I had actually missed this teasing tiny gesture until this very moment. She sure hadn't done it since she returned from Jordan. I doubted she had before she left too. Not even before she left the first time. Could it be before even Samuel…?
"…sex?" the word pulled me away from my thoughts. I blinked.
"Yes." April replied, clearly uncomfortable.
"Sorry, what? I wasn't following."
Dr. Cope looked at me. "I asked if it was April's first time sleeping with someone."
"Oh." I licked my lips. "Confirmed."
I think I saw April roll her eyes with the corner of my eyes.
"And were you any close before that?"
I smiled. "Very."
"We were best friends." She added.
"Mhm." More scrapings at the notebook.
"We were also living together at the time." I informed her. "The two of us plus a colleague. And then before that along with a few of our friends. And before that with different friends."
"So you had been best friends and living together for…?"
"Almost seven years." I replied.
She nodded. "And the boards were how long ago?"
"Five years." April said.
"Alright." She nodded to herself, seeming like she was going over some mental list of questions she had prepared for us. "So that night, who made the first move?"
April raised her hand uncomfortably instead of speaking.
I grinned. "She was attacking everyone, it was insane."
She huffed at me. "Jackson!"
"But I was lucky it was with her lips and not her punch this time."
"Oh my God! Stop it!"
Dr. Cope laughed. "I see."
April buried her head in her hands. "This is beyond embarrassing."
"Nobody is judging you here, April." The therapist said. "I am just-"
"Trying to get the better picture, yes." I said. "She knows."
She raised her head to shoot me another glare.
"Alright. So…" the therapist trailed off and moved on to the next question.
I frowned. This was about to get very complicated...